How To Kill a Mockingbird
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the subject of racism is emphasised in several relations among the characters. The narration is made from protagonists eyes, who lives in an imaginary municipality in Alabama called Maycomb alongside his father and brother, Atticus and Jem respectively. Several characteristics of the iniquity are portrayed, primarily in the clash between the African-American people and the whites. Majority of the misapprehensions in the township are instigated by typecasts that exist and were passed by affiliates of different races. The tale, therefore, concluded how biases and discriminations along ethnic lines are capable of hampering social accord, which is also apparent in today's society.
The incident of Tom’s trial is the first occurrence of racial discrimination since the whole novel spins around it. Tom is under arrest for the rape and assault of a white lady named Myella Ewell. This occurrence makes the entire Maycomb population turn their backs on him. He turns out to be an accessible object of racial discrimination only due to his skin colour. Everybody in the municipality has confidence in Myella’s narration apart from Atticus. Even though no evidence of his wrongdoing exists, he goes through loathing from his community people and the court as well. The events around this trial offer a chance to assess the racist standpoint of a whole community.
Another racism incident involves Atticus when he defends Tom. Atticus chose to be on his son's side since he has confidence in his innocence. However, his decision summonses the anger of the Maycomb people. Cecil Jacob, a classmate of Scouts, says that Atticus is protecting a ‘Negro’ which leads to a scuffle between the two classmates. Xenophobia has disillusioned the people significantly that Scout overlooks his assurance and becomes enraged. The relationship of this instance of racial discrimination turns out to be noticeable here for backing up the blameless.
An additional instance of racism comprises of a white person, Boo Radley, who uses a scissor to stab his father. Regardless of his misconduct, he is not detained with the African-American convicts in jail. As an alternative, he is locked up in the court underground room. The sheriff considers it harsh handling if he is confined with the nonwhite people — the difference injustice for Boo as he gets detrimental processing even after him admitting to his misconduct. On the contrary, blameless Tom encounters maltreatment due to his colour. This instance illustrations how bias separates society, and how individuals in power misplace the logic of fairness as well as policymaking practice.
Atticus articulates his understanding of the legal structure once Tom’s trial was over. He tries to gain fairness for Tom but does not succeed. His resolution of protecting Tom demonstrates a revolution against the public. All through the novel, he persistently transmits positive ethics to his kids. Nevertheless, when the court of law proves predisposed, he acknowledges that in deleterious cultures, white man arguments have credibility while the words of a black man’s are undependable. This episode shows that despite how honest and loyal one is, they are incapable of going contrary to the established social customs. Atticus, in Chapter 23, also articulates in court that, Mayella Ewell is exploiting her white privilege by blaming a guiltless gentleman. She never offers any evidence of her virtuousness to the law court, but Tom turns out to be a target of the delinquency he did not do.
Conclusion
The novel continually expresses what discrimination based on racial lines can cause havoc in society. The races involved become each others target, and innocent people can end up suffering in the process. People in power and the legal system are therefore in place to ensure that there is a streak of justice and fairness in the community to help the blameless who are caught in the crossfire between the opposing communities. The court system is therefore expected to be impartial to help in such cases and restore social harmony.
